


Skirting the Carrows' decrees

by FedonCiadale



Series: Phoenix Potion Universe [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Carrows Reign at Hogwarts, F/M, Flirting, Hogwarts Seventh Year, POV Pansy Parkinson, Prefect Pansy Parkinson, Resistance Neville Longbottom, UST
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:47:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27712250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FedonCiadale/pseuds/FedonCiadale
Summary: Seventh year is a horror. Patrolling is a nightmare. Pansy's little sister has been sorted into Hufflepuff and Pansy tries to go along with some of the crazy Carrow's decrees so that her sister won't be picked on. Why does this stupid Gryffindor who seems the only one who helps the children affect her so much?
Relationships: Neville Longbottom/Pansy Parkinson
Series: Phoenix Potion Universe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2026012
Comments: 14
Kudos: 47





	Skirting the Carrows' decrees

**Author's Note:**

> This is loosely connected to events in "The Phoenix Potion" but you don't need to know that monster of a fic.
> 
> It can also be read as a prologue to my upcoming Panville fic "The perks of casting a patronus."

Personal points were the reason why Pansy’s feelings were very mixed, when she was paired with Theo for the night patrol.

On the one hand being paired with Theo was a relief, because he would not check every corner in every corridor, so chances were that they would not catch anyone breaking any school rules, or rather, ‘creepy Carrows’ decrees’ as Pansy called them, if only just in her head. On the other hand, Pansy did not dare let her personal points slip too far. She would need them, in case her little sister Rylla got in trouble. It would not do to fail in reporting anything, but maybe, just maybe the Carrows would be satisfied with complaints about Peeves.

She cursed the day Rylla had been sorted into Hufflepuff, or maybe another day before then, when her parents had decided to send Rylla to Hogwarts instead of Beauxbatons. She had begged them as openly as she had dared. She knew she had to return to Hogwarts, or her parents’ loyalty to ‘the cause’ would be questioned. But she would have preferred her little sister to be spared. Well, while she was at it, she might as well curse the day when the Dark Lord had returned.

But as it was Rylla was in Huffflepuff and with the Carrows doing their best to destroy Hufflepuff solidarity, Pansy was out doing patrols, so that she would stay on the good side of the Carrows, insofar anyone could even stay on the good side of these erratic tyrants. One of the worst things about the Carrows was their unpredictability after all. They had the students in an iron grip.

And House Slytherin, the house that was supposedly favoured, was at an all time low. Not if you looked at the house points, but the inner coherence had vanished.

‘Snakes stick together’. Pansy grimaced. In all her years in Hogwarts she would not have thought that her house’s unity could fall apart. Used to being whispered about as the house of ‘dark wizards’, pushed to loyalty in the face of the constant rivalry with Gryffindor and glued together by the confidence that Slytherin held the most important members of wizarding society.

It had all crumbled under the Carrows. And their head of house had done nothing to prevent it. Slughorn had really perfected the self-preserving trait of Slytherin. Snape was away more often than not. He was no help either.

There were Slytherins that were positively eager to do the Carrows’ bidding. Vincent and Gregory were lapping up the dark arts like eager puppies and were distributing curses and hexes all around. Even Hufflepuffs were targeted, although Puffs were exempt from Slytherin pranks as everyone who entered Slytherin was told in their first year. So many ancient unwritten rules were being violated, that it left Pansy feeling like she was clinging to drifting wood in the rapids of a grand river. Being thrown here and there, losing sight of the banks, hoping not to drown. Easter had come and spring had come, yet her hope had dwindled to nothing.

Pansy cursed inwardly. That was the worst, the constant mistrust the Carrows’ system sowed into her heart. She could almost wish she were Draco. He didn’t need to consider younger siblings and he had some sort of standing with the Carrows, even though it was never made clear where he stood exactly. Everyone in Slytherin knew that he was the one who had led death-eaters into Hogwarts last year, but he also had failed his task to kill Dumbledore and the Carrows made fun of his sub-par _cruciatus_ curse.

On the other hand, the Dark Lord had taken residence in Malfoy Manor. So, everyone was treading lightly around Draco, because no one could really be certain, if he were in the Dark Lord’s grace. It could not be excluded that he might be highly ranked in the new order of things. Draco himself seemed to be oblivious about his semi-famous status. He skipped classes all the time and had become an expert in avoiding the Carrows.

Pansy suspected he was up to something in the Room of Requirement, and not something for ‘the cause’, but she had no proof. And she would not look for proof. That was a line she would not cross. She would not betray one of her oldest friends. The Carrows could not make her do that. At the moment, Draco was in the hospital wing anyway. Pansy had visited him, but he had been feverish and had not recognized her. He had mumbled something along the line ‘How could he have been so bloody stupid?’ and Pansy wondered if he meant his father. The fact that she had overheard Vincent that ‘the Malfoys were done’ was not reassuring.

They were rather close to the Room of Requirement right now. Pansy stamped on her curiosity. She would not check what Draco was up to. She could not betray what she did not know after all.

Theo began to talk in a hushed voice about their latest essay in Transfiguration. He put his hands in his robes, pulled out his pocket watch and fiddled with it for the umpteenth time. He always fiddled with that bloody thing on patrol.

Pansy answered curtly. They were not supposed to talk. She studied Theo from under her eyelashes. Did he know about the Room of Requirement? Theo was a good student and obsessed about homework, but he was also not the most talkative person. It could be that he tried to make some noise as a warning, just in case some students were taking advantage of the Room. Or was he trying to lure her into breaking the rules, so that he could tell on her? So, that he would get personal points?

You could never know who might become a traitor. Daphne Greengrass had tried to spare some Ravenclaw first year girl behind Gregory’s back when they had been doing patrol, but Gregory had told on her and she had lost all her personal points. Points she probably needed to help her younger sister Astoria. Pansy shuddered. She did not know how many points Theo had. Would Theo try to get points at her expense?

She opted for going along without giving anything away.

“Shhh”, she stopped Theo. Her hiss was very loud and echoed satisfyingly in the corridor. That was all the warning she could give.

Theo looked contrite. “I forgot,” he whispered, his eyes twitching nervously. “I just worry so much about this essay.”

Pansy hissed through her teeth, turning around to address her classmate. She drew in a sharp breath when she saw the air shimmer behind Theo, just where one of the suits of armours stood that decorated the corridors in Hogwarts.

“What?” Theo looked at her questioningly.

That was a disillusionment charm, or she would eat the talking hat. Her heart plummeted. He was taller than the suit of armour that he had used as a cover. That meant it could only be one person. She thought she saw a whiff of his dark hair. Neville Longbottom.

The Carrows would be very happy, if he was caught. Longbottom was their favourite victim. Longbottom and his obstinate refusal to be part of their system of torture, fear and suspicions. Longbottom and his stupid Gryffindor bravery. Longbottom who didn’t even know that he was a beacon of hope.

She had to act fast. Theo would have to be beyond stupid to let such a golden opportunity go. She would be in deep trouble if Theo caught him and she had overlooked him. Not to mention what the Carrows would do if they even suspected she had overlooked him on purpose.

She blinked and raised her finger to the corner of her eye as if something had gotten into it, just to gain time. A small break of the rules, Theo was not likely to squeal on a small thing.

“You don’t need to worry.” Pansy commented loudly. “McGonagall gives credit, where credit’s due.”

She lowered her voice, so that Theo had to bend forward. “You can have a look at my essay.”

Her heart hammered in her breast. She turned again and tried to act as if nothing was out of the ordinary. As if letting someone look at her homework was not something that was discouraged as all small acts of solidarity were.

Her steps on the stone floor echoed loudly in her ears. Did she hear the light sigh of a breath that had been held in? She needed to get Theo away.

Theo tagged along and fell in at her side. Pansy tried to breathe normally.

It was highly unlikely that Theo really needed her essay to write his own, but he would not pass the opportunity to have a look. Pansy was the best in Transfiguration from their house after all.

It was an effort not to sigh in relief when they had rounded the corner. Pansy strained her ears, but she could not hear anything. Longbottom had become so much better at being stealthy, despite his tell-tale height. He probably had entered the Room of Requirement by now.

Theo and Pansy made their way through all the levels of the castle to return to the dungeons. Pansy was sure, there were some Ravenclaws in a dark corner of one of the corridors, but Theo seemed to be oblivious, so she didn’t point them out.

They had almost finished, when Theo stopped and cursed. He turned his pockets inside out, searching frantically.

“Damn,” he said. “I lost my pocket watch.”

Pansy could have slapped him. He had fiddled with it just in front of the Room of Requirement. Alternatively, she could have slapped herself. She had been too eager to get Theo away. She wondered if he had done it on purpose. Why was he so concerned about his watch? Was it charmed?

She dreaded what they would find if they returned. Or rather who they might chance upon. More risks.

She laid her hand on Theo’s arm. “We’d best split up to fetch it. More time for your essay. You don’t want McGonagall in your hair.”

Theo looked at her with wide eyes. They were not supposed to be on their own. It was such a small gesture of friendship. Go and fetch some stuff a friend had forgotten, splitting up to be faster. But under the Carrows, it became huge. Pansy would lose personal points if they would learn about it. And she’d probably be crucioed as well.

“We’ll be back in no time,” she reassured him.

“Quick, then.” Theo whispered.

“I’ll start on the seventh level.” Pansy turned on her heels and ran before Theo could protest this arrangement.

Just at the corner of the corridor that held the Room of Requirement she stopped and listened closely. When no sound reached her ears, even after a sound enhancing spell, she let out a breath in relief. Maybe she had imagined seeing Longbottom’s hair and he had not been there.

When she rounded the corner though, she ran into Longbottom’s back. The disillusionment charm rippled and fell apart. Longbottom must have cast an expert silencing spell in addition. How had he become so good at doing spells? He had been hopeless when they were younger.

Behind Longbottom the door to the Room of Requirement was closing. Pansy caught a glimpse of children in the room. She thought she saw Hufflepuff shawls.

His clear blue eyes met hers for what felt like a sliver of eternity. Her heart thudded heavily in her chest.

Longbottom sported a blackened bruise on the left side of his face and a scratch on the right. He did not look at his side to check if the Room had closed, and his eyes only flickered shortly.

“On patrol, Parkinson?” he asked. “Where is your partner?”

His voice sounded normal, as if he did not need to fear being brought to the Carrows. As if he was merely asking after the weather.

Wordlessly, she accioed Theo’s watch and held it up for Longbottom to see.

She gestured at the wall behind him, where the door to the Room had vanished.

“Hufflepuffs?”. She failed to keep her voice from trembling.

He nodded.

“Rylla?” Her voice was barely audible. He could pretend not to have heard.

“She didn’t want to come. She thinks you might be punished if she vanishes.”

Pansy closed her eyes in a desperate effort to prevent tears from forming in her eyes. She blinked fast.

She slapped her hand on Longbottom’s chest and strained her neck to look up at him.

“Next time, tell her, I’m not in danger.”

Longbottom looked down at her and arched an eyebrow at her.

Her heart began to beat erratically and fast. Why was he so damn tall? Why did the bruise on his face make him so bloody attractive? He was supposed to be the Gryffindor loser, not a capable wizard, a hero who protected the children better than any of the teachers.

“I know this is a lie, Parkinson. I know enough about how the Carrows run your house.”

She could feel his voice rumbling in his chest through her fingertips. She wondered about the muscles on his chest. She retracted her hand as if she were burned.

“Just tell her, I said that. I’ll tell her myself if I get the chance.”

Longbottom studied her face and his gaze shot straight to her heart and stopped her breath for a short moment. “You’d better leave that to me, Parkinson. I bet your sister knows you well enough to know when you’re lying. Or you need to work on your acting.”

“You’d better rely on my acting, Longbottom,” she told him. “I’m going to fake my report on this patrol after all.”

It was tempting to beg him to fetch Rylla right now, to stay near him, maybe have a look at his bruises, see, if she could do some healing. But Theo could come any moment. And Pansy did not dare trust him.

“And you’d better work on your disillusionment charms. I did see your hair just above that suit of armour.” She turned and left.

She found Theo on the fifth floor and together they returned to the dungeons. Pansy filled out the patrol form and Theo signed it after reading meticulously. Pansy’s heart beat hard and fast. If it had all been a ruse by Theo, now was the moment.

When Pansy lay in bed later, she finally let the tears fall. How had her life become so complicated? Why was everything upside down? How had the virtues of Slytherin turned to become vices? And how was she relying on a stupid long-legged Gryffindor to help her baby sister elude the Carrows’ clutches?

How came his eyes were such an impossible shade of blue?

“Neville,” she rounded her lips around his name in the dark, although no sound escaped her.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to @marydri for bouncing ideas back and forth and for reading in advance. So glad we have the same ships!


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